InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ There I Was ❯ A New Challange ( Chapter 20 )

There I Was

Chapter Twenty: A New Challenge

{Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha and never will.}

Authors Note: This chapter happens a couple of years later. Again, I'm sorry if these chapters seem fast. Review responses are below. Ja.

Paige89/whoopy212: Sorry to disappoint you. It's a boy.

Dreaming_Girl: Sorry about the errors, I'll try to make it less confusing. Sesshi's going to be in the next chapter, so don't worry. Sorry I'm update so slowly. I joined pit orchestra at school and it's taking a lot of time out of my schedule. I'll try to post more.

-Flame

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My heart filled with panic as a high-pitched wail reached my ears. I jumped from my bed, throwing the blankets off my body and against the wall in my hurry. I ran out of my room and turned the corner into a smaller room with a little bed against the wall.

There sat my five-year-old son crying with the blankets pulled close to his face. I ran over and wrapped him in my arms. "What's wrong Toshi?" I asked running my fingers through his short silver and black streaked hair. I didn't get a response and just rocked him back and forth, stroking his hair, and holding him in my arms as he calmed down. Soon his sob became nothing but sniffles and he looked up at me with his amber eyes. "What happened?"

"I h-had a b-bad d-dream."

"Awe…"I held him closer to me and continued rocking back and forth. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"N-not right n-now." He buried his head in my chest and mumbled something.

"What? I couldn't understand you." He lifted his head and looked at me.

"C-can I have a drink of water?"

"Of course. Come on." I got off the bed and he took my hand. We walked down the dark hall and into our primitive kitchen. He hopped up in a chair and I picked up a glass and started filling it with water. I placed the cup in front of him and lit a candle. I sat across from him and watched him drink the liquid. He put down his cup and looked at me. He had stopped sniffling, but he was still upset. "What wrong? Talk to me."

"I had a dream that a demon came and killed you." He lowered his head as he spoke and I walked over to him. I knelt next to him and rested my forehead gently on his shoulder.

"A demon won't kill me."

"How do you know that?"

"I refuse to die on you." He turned his head and looked at me.

"Promise?"

"I promise." He hugged me and he grabbed my hand again. I blew out the candle and walked back to his room. He crawled into his bed and I tucked him in.

"Tell me a bedtime story." I sat on the edge of his bed and smiled.

"What do you want to hear?"

"I want to hear about my father."

"Alright, lie down." He snuggled into his blankets and watched me with interest. "Your father was very strong. He was an inu youkai and many feared him. He had long silver hair and golden eyes and a blue crescent mark on his forehead."

"Like mine mamma?" He lifted his bangs and exposed the crescent shaped mark. I nodded and tapped it with my index finger.

"Yep, just like yours."

"What ever happened to him?"

"He went to fight in a war and disappeared."

"Do you think he's alive out there, somewhere?"

"Yes. He was a very strong man and wouldn't have been killed so easily."

"Why hasn't he come back for us then?" I sighed and patted his head.

"I don't know. He could be on is way back at this very moment."

"Really?" He smiled and I nodded.

"He could be. Now get some sleep, you have training with Uncle Inuyasha in the morning." He nodded and closed his eyes. I sat there for a bit and just watched him breathe. I know I practically lied to the boy. He didn't know what that mark on his forehead was, or what it meant. He didn't even know who his father exactly was. It's not like I didn't want to tell him, Saiyako's men have been over here and even now they're searching for me. I can't allow them to get a hold on Toshi. He's too important to me for them to find him. They'd kill him. Toshi's a full youkai, but that doesn't mean he's invincible. I don't understand it myself, Kikyou says it may have something to do with my miko powers or something like that, but it keeps him safe, so I suppose it's not such a bad thing. I leaned down and kissed his cheek before I stood and walked back to my own room.

I picked my blankets off the floor where they fell after they hit the wall in my rush to get to my son. I lied down in my bed and sighed, I have training in the morning as well; I hope I won't be too tired for it. I closed my eyes and let sleep claim me.

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I opened my eyes and looked out the window across from my bed. The sun was just now starting to rise. I got out of bed and walked over to my closet. Okay, so it wasn't exactly a closet, but it was close. I pulled out my miko garbs and walked out of my door. I sort of stumbled through the small hall of my humble home, I was tired, give me a break.

Just as I entered the living room, which was right next to the kitchen and where the hall opened up into, there was a knock at the door. I walked over and opened it without hesitation. Inuyasha stepped inside and smiled at me. "You look tired. Toshi give you a hard night?" I nodded and smiled.

"Is it that noticeable?"

"Not really, I just wanna give you hell, is all."

"Why thank you Inu-chan, you're so considerate." I stepped out of my house and grabbed a dry towel off of the porch railing. When Kikyou told Inuyasha to fix up the hut I thought of something like what she lived in, but the place is more like a small `Little House on the Prairie' type thing. "I'll be back soon."

"Alright, I'll watch the little tyke." I smiled and walked into the woods. It's been like this since I came here. Inuyasha's been more than helpful in more ways then one. He watches Toshi in the mornings while I bathe, and he's more than once gone to the west to see if Sessh has returned or not. He may act all tough, but he's just a big teddy bear inside. I think he kind of likes us around.

I got to the hot spring that was not too far from my home and stripped. I glided through the water towards the herbs that Kikyou had shown me you could use as soap long ago. I've forgotten what it's like to bathe with the bath oils and specially made soaps back in the west. I rinsed the suds off my arms and looked down at the scar on my shoulder that traveled to my hip.

I wonder is the scars on my back are as bad as they are in the front? I should have scars on my back at least, I've never heard of anyone who got whipped and went away without scars. I shivered from the memory and left the spring. I dried off and dressed in my miko garbs. I walked back to my house and smiled as I saw Toshi and Inuyasha outside already training.

Inuyasha was teaching Toshi how to control his youki while Kikyou taught me how to control my miko powers. I was already almost twice as strong as when I first started training with Kikyou, and it scared her. She's never heard of a miko as powerful as myself, except for Modoriko, the miko who created the Shikon no Tama. She thinks I may be related to her, or maybe even her reincarnation. I don't know what to think anymore, who knows, maybe I am.

I walked inside and started cooking a healthy breakfast of eggs, pancake wannabes, and some type of meat that I still can't figure out what it is, but Toshi likes it so I make it for him. I finished setting the food on the table and the boys came running in. Toshi was only five, and already he lets his stomach think for him. I smiled at them. "Enjoy, I'm going for my lessons, I'll see you again at noon, Toshi."

"Bye momma! Hey! Uncle Inuyasha! That's my egg!" I laughed and left my home again. I walked down the hill toward the village and saw Kikyou waiting for me outside her hut.

"Morning!" I smiled and ran up to her.

"Good morning Kagome. Are you ready for training today?" I nodded and she smiled. "Good, we're going to work on your healing ability a bit more. But before we do that, are you sure you don't want me to teach you how to stop you power from going out of control when you sneeze?" I shook my head and smiled.

"No, I can stop it from causing harm, but that's how I met Sessh, I don't want to get rid of it. I know it's probably a good idea if I did, but I can't help but think that may be it'll help me find him again someday."

"Alright, it's your choice, lets get started." I walked into the hut and sat next to the fire. "I want you to meditate for a while, build up your power, then see if you can heal what I bring you."

"Alright." I closed my eyes and relaxed. I opened my mind and spread my senses around me. I could feel, more than hear, Kikyou get up and walk outside. She soon returned as I felt my power around me like a force field. She laid something in front of me and I could feel the pull of her aura telling me to heal it.

I opened my eyes and looked down at a hurt bird at my knees. Its wing was broken and I could feel its pain, a hot searing pain in the arm, near the elbow. I laid my hands over its small body and closed my eyes again. I willed my power to flow through my fingers and into the bird. I envisioned the bones and tissue knitting back together and opened my eyes once again.

I pulled my hands away and the bird chirped and flew off. Kikyou hugged me and smiled. "You did it! You healed it! I can't even heal a broken bone!" She sat back on her heals and looked at me. "You're power is amazing, Kagome. You're lucky you're still able to learn these techniques at you age."

"At my age? Are you trying to tell me I'm old?"

"No, of course not, but most mikos aren't able to learn new abilities after a certain age. I had a few doubts about you, but you far exceeded anything I imagined. You have to have Modoriko's blood within your veins."

"If you say so…" The door burst open and Toshi ran into my arms.

"Mamma! Mamma! Come see what Uncle Inuyasha just taught me!"

"Alright dear. I'll see you later Kikyou."

"Alright." I stood and followed Toshi out the door. He ran up to Inuyasha and took his sword from his Uncles' hands. It was really a short sword or a long dagger, but he was so thrilled that he had gotten his first `sword' that we let him believe it was one, besides, in his prospective it was.

"Watch!" I kept my eyes focused on my son. He closed his eyes and I could see some wind whip around his body. He was focusing his youki into his sword and it started to glow a blue color. Slowly he raised his sword and opened his eyes. "Haiya!" He yelled and slashed down sending a small and weak youki blast toward Inuyasha, who had moved in front of him to block the blast and stop it from destroying anything. "Did you see that?"

"Yes I did, that was very impressive."

"I'm going to go put my sword away and wait for you in the living room, `kay momma?"

"Okay." Toshi ran up the hill and Inuyasha walked up to me.

"That boy is most definitely Sesshoumaru's son. I'm almost afraid of how strong he's going to be when he gets older."

"I know. I hope you know what this means to me. You training him and all."

"Keh, it's not like you could do anything." I shook my head and smiled.

"True, I just hope you know I really appreciate all you do for us."

"You say so everyday, now get up there." He walked inside Kikyou's hut and I ran up the hill to my own home. Toshi was indeed waiting for me in the living room with all his schoolbooks spread out.

"What do you say to lunch before we study?"

"Yaye! Lunch!" He jumped up and ran into the kitchen. I made a quick lunch, just some sort of sandwich thing, and then we hit the books. We studied for an hour or two and then I sent him out to play. Toshi may be the heir to the Western Lands, but that doesn't mean he can't have a childhood.

I sat in front of my house on the porch with Inuyasha and Kikyou as Toshi played in front of us with a boy about his age from the village. Many of the other children were afraid of Toshi, because he was a youkai, but this boy didn't. His name was Ryu. He was pretty much Toshi's only friend. It made me a bit sad that he didn't have any other friends, but one is better than none.

I watched them play until the sun went down and Ryu went home. Toshi walked up to me rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Can I go to bed mamma?"

"You don't want dinner?" He shook his head and took my hand. "Alright, come on." I walked into the house with him and he changed into his sleeping kimono and crawled into bed. I covered him up and kissed his forehead. "Night, sweetie."

"Night, momma." He yawned and closed his eyes. I closed his door as I left and smiled. Sessh, where ever you are, you're really missing out. I hope we can find you soon. I walked down the hall and returned to Inuyasha and Kikyou and stayed up a bit longer talking to my family.